CDN-Christian RPG

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
I think he's talking about the Troll, which is the boss of the cavern as opposed to the initial mountain.

But as for the site, it looks good, thanks!

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: David Lancaster ON: Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:47 pm
I beat the ogre on my first try, if you need MP Ross go talk to the Priest.

Antagonist is on RPC website, let me know if you'd like anything changed Darnell.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:23 am

Ross Leland wrote:

Average level is 9 or so. All of my players did 1 damage to him while he dealt 55 a piece to each player. I forgot to do any MP refreshers on Ishmael before I went into combat so that is probably my fault...

Level 9 should be more than enough (that's a healthy level for that stage in the game). That boss is just highly resistant to normal attacks. For any given boss you'll want to use special attacks constantly, unless you need to conserve energy or you're out of MP. Most of the time normal attacks won't be enough.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Ross Leland ON: Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:43 pm
Average level is 9 or so. All of my players did 1 damage to him while he dealt 55 a piece to each player. I forgot to do any MP refreshers on Ishmael before I went into combat so that is probably my fault...

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Exodus ON: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:24 am

uncreativepseudonym wrote:

Enterbrain's engine costs money, so I haven't really tried it, sorry. The OHR engine is fairly straightforward, but it's not even trying to be user friendly. Use it in conjunction with their website, as you can't really learn on your own. It has enough flexibility (especially if you want to learn the associated programming language) to make more than cardboard-cutout games, but what you can do with graphics is fairly limited unless you like pixel art.

Yeah, I'm not sure what sort of language it is. It looks like a mix of C and java. I'm a total fan of pixel art. I like the SNES feel to your game

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Sun Sep 07, 2008 7:36 am

Ross Leland wrote:

*EDIT PS* You might consider adding a comparison chart to see what weapons/armor are upgrades to the character. I really like how it looks and feels though.

Hm, that wouldn't be hard. I may consider that in future versions.

Ross Leland wrote:

**FINAL EDIT* I quit. Troll is OP. -_-;; I will try more Monday probably.

I suspect not, but just to check: what is your party's average level?

However, the Troll is one of the bosses that requires strategy more than level. I suspect you can beat him simply by trying something different. Tanis gave you a hint about what to do, actually, in the last story sequence. You probably know that Chris's special attacks mostly avoid defense, and you also have a new character with attacks you probably haven't used much. Both can manage this battle, even at low levels (I played a slightly LL game for the sake of balance).

Ross Leland wrote:

uncreativepseudonym, may I call you by your real name here or is it better not to? I'd like to put a free games section up on the Rebel Planet website and would like to put your game on there, just a link to your Antagonist Website and the download. Would that be okay?

I suppose my real name is fine, since people could already find it out if they wanted to do a bit of work. But yes, I would very much appreciate it if you placed it on the RP website.

Exodus wrote:

Hey, I noticed you were using Hamster Republic's RPG engine. How do you like that engine in comparison to Enterbrain's RPG Maker engine? I know the Hamster Republic one has been around for a while so I was just wondering. I think I tried using that one a while back, but was a bit confused on what to do.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Exodus ON: Sun Sep 07, 2008 7:26 am
Hey, I noticed you were using Hamster Republic's RPG engine. How do you like that engine in comparison to Enterbrain's RPG Maker engine? I know the Hamster Republic one has been around for a while so I was just wondering. I think I tried using that one a while back, but was a bit confused on what to do.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Mene-Mene ON: Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:43 am
I think he's saying its over-powered....

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: David Lancaster ON: Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:55 am
What does OP mean Ross?

Thanks for taking the time to play the game it's much appreciated!

uncreativepseudonym, may I call you by your real name here or is it better not to? I'd like to put a free games section up on the Rebel Planet website and would like to put your game on there, just a link to your Antagonist Website and the download. Would that be okay?

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Ross Leland ON: Sat Sep 06, 2008 1:01 pm

David Lancaster wrote:

Ross Leland wrote:

Everyone talking about your game is making me want to play it.

What is stopping you Ross?

Time. Trying to spend some time with my friend before she starts chemo, as well as find a job.

I just downloaded it and had to force myself to stop. >_< Reminds me of the old Lufia games.

*EDIT* Hehe it is kinda similar. Four big bosses.

*EDIT PS* You might consider adding a comparison chart to see what weapons/armor are upgrades to the character. I really like how it looks and feels though.

*FINAL EDIT* I quit. Troll is OP. -_-;; I will try more Monday probably.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: David Lancaster ON: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:09 pm

Ross Leland wrote:

Everyone talking about your game is making me want to play it.

What is stopping you Ross?

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Ross Leland ON: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:52 pm
I don't think Jesus would have a problem with you having a gold bracelet that says WWJD, as long as you didn't spend the money He told you to give to the missionary, church, or local rescue mission on it, but I understand what you are saying. Personally I would prefer a bracelet that read "God Loves You."

Everyone talking about your game is making me want to play it.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:40 pm
It's very edifying for me to hear you say that. Part of the reason I wanted to create a game was so I could get broader feedback.

David Lancaster wrote:

Are you doing this full time? Do you have to work to make income to live?

I currently have a very nice job that is full time but allows me to work on other things if my objectives are met (that's why most of my messages are during business hours). Unfortunately, this is a temporary position and will end roughly August 2009. After that I am not certain how I will proceed and I hope to have direction before then. But yes, I will need to work to support myself.

David Lancaster wrote:

Even the forest level how you force the player to learn the mechanic of walking through trees before they need to use it in a more complex manner. That is smart design!

You're the first person to mention that. It's good to know people appreciate those small details.

David Lancaster wrote:

Would you elaborate on this sentence more? I don't quite understand it.
"but in the sense that Ecclesiastes is a Christian book, not in the sense of gold WWJD bracelets"

Sorry, I tend to throw out some fairly obscure lines in an offhand fashion. First, I don't know familiar you are with Ecclesiastes, but I find it a complex book that can shake people up and make them think deeply about issues (which is an important function of the Bible that is sometimes forgotten).

The gold WWJD bracelet is a symbol of misguided piety, based off a story of a businessman who made one out of 24-karat gold. Yes, asking what Jesus would do might be a good sentiment, but it's ironic to remind yourself of this with a piece of expensive jewelry when Christ lived among beggars and told one rich man to sell all he had and give it to the poor.

What I wanted to communicate is that this game is intended to have a difficult message, and definitely not a secular game that has some religious labels thrown on it in order to appeal to Christians. My belief is that Christian games should have a story and theme in which the Christian elements are inseparable from the game itself.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Exodus ON: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:42 am

uncreativepseudonym wrote:

David Lancaster wrote:

So the people in the plot are really broken human beings? The Super Apostles represent those in the church who claim to be of God and Christians yet 'hurt' others, and lack the fruit of the spirit in their lives? And you communicated this hurting through the killing of innocents in the name of God in the game? And you also communicated such blindness that we all have through their inability to truly listen to Blake, wife and others, seek out their true intentions, and in the end they were just quick to judge and kill them?

That's pretty much all correct.

As far as the black orb, that requires a slightly longer answer:

Spoiler! :

I'm glad to hear you felt that way about the graphics and sound; I agree with your philosophy about what makes quality almost completely. Obviously modern gamers are going to want a fully rendered 3D environment, but hopefully everyone recognizes that older styles can still be slickly packaged.

David Lancaster wrote:

Where did you get your game design skills? How many years have you spent gaining experience? How did you learn to design an RPG? Did you spend 3 weeks full time developing this prototype? How did you manage to design such a good layout in such little time? Have you had experience before in design?

If you mean professional experience, no. My education is in theology and literature, whereas my career has mostly been in information technology.

I've been playing games since I was a child, and I always try to critically analyze what makes things work, be it a book or a game. The desire to create has been with me for a long time, from text adventure games programmed in QBasic to a more recent effort like this. I've spent plenty of time outlining better games, but never actualized most of them simply due to the difficulty. But for this I decided to finish something to the best of my ability, just to have something complete and give a full game a shot. That's probably all there is to my background in game design.

I was working full time during those three weeks, but other than that the majority of my time was spent on the game. Obviously the idea was older than those three weeks, as I like to let my story concepts simmer until I feel they're exactly what I want.

Basically, I looked over what graphics I had and the capabilities of the program. I tried to have no more than one dungeon per theme (forest, lava, etc) and tried to have a different design concept for each area. For example, the forest is all about the invisible maze, or the initial mountain is about easing players into the game. Once I figured out roughly how many areas I could manage, I put them together in the way that seemed most logical and then started producing maps and writing events.

David Lancaster wrote:

I hope you don't mind my personal questions. Do you have myspace or facebook? Anywhere I can find out more about you?

Yes, but how about I send it to you via PM?

David Lancaster wrote:

My biggest concern is that there are people who have been affected by the occult and are quite sensitive to it. In my opinion it's not the mechanic of magic that makes it bad but the word magic. If you replaced the word with something that didn't relate to the occult you'd be fine even if it had the same mechanic or some supernatural origin from God.

I do realize this is a concern for many, and if I were to be creating a game for anything other than free download I would keep it in mind.

David Lancaster wrote:

Have you got any youtube videos up or trailers? I'd love to promote this prototype.

That’s a generous offer, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything like that. I’ve struggled with how to create a decent trailer for a game like this – my imagination exceeds my ability.

Wow, uncreativepseudonym you sound like we have a lot in common ^^ I hope to see more great games from you! ^_^

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: David Lancaster ON: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:04 am
Everyone including myself who has attempted to make a Christian game have been people with a desire lacking the skill, although over time we gain skills, I see you at a REALLY GOOD skill level. The skills you have, which at a point I myself lacked and I continue to see others, move ahead with games without, and it poorly affects the quality of their games. But the only way they can learn is to keep moving forward. It's not often you see game designers as good as you. And you're in a grand position of making something great.

Are you doing this full time? Do you have to work to make income to live?

You had the dedication to work full time on a game for 3 weeks and COMPLETE IT! 3 WEEKS! Not only did you complete the game it was well designed, you didn't even have to spend months refining the design or test it out, you hit the bullseye on the first shot. Even the forest level how you force the player to learn the mechanic of walking through trees before they need to use it in a more complex manner. That is smart design!

And that story, that beautiful story. You compelled me as a player to keep playing, I kept playing, the story drove me through your game. Yes i was bothered by it, and yes half way through the game I thought that you were expressing your faith through the super apostles and was beginning to feel quite worried. Even after playing the game I needed to ask you questions because I was unsure.

You've given the game controversy, it was controversial for me to play, the gospel aspect wasn't clear to me and maybe that's a good thing? If the message was clear, my mind did not process the information, I tend to rush through dialog. Maybe it can challenge people on the way they see things. It certainly shook me up a bit.

Those are just my thoughts though.

Here is my first thread, it's on the gamestudio forums, I think non-Christians would be interested in this game much more than Christians.

http://www.coniserver.net/ubb7/ubbthrea ... Post225647

Would you elaborate on this sentence more? I don't quite understand it.
"but in the sense that Ecclesiastes is a Christian book, not in the sense of gold WWJD bracelets"

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:38 am
Sure, if you like. I'm pleasantly surprised to find you so enthusiastic about this. Can you mention the sites to me, though, so I can keep tabs on any feedback? I do plan to eventually update the game if errors come to light.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: David Lancaster ON: Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:20 am
Thank you so much! I appreciate all your answers Could I post links to your game site on other websites, create threads on forums about it etc?

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:59 am

David Lancaster wrote:

That's pretty much all correct.

As far as the black orb, that requires a slightly longer answer:

Spoiler! :

David Lancaster wrote:

I hope you don't mind my personal questions. Do you have myspace or facebook? Anywhere I can find out more about you?

Yes, but how about I send it to you via PM?

David Lancaster wrote:

I do realize this is a concern for many, and if I were to be creating a game for anything other than free download I would keep it in mind.

David Lancaster wrote:

Have you got any youtube videos up or trailers? I'd love to promote this prototype.

That’s a generous offer, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything like that. I’ve struggled with how to create a decent trailer for a game like this – my imagination exceeds my ability.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: David Lancaster ON: Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:23 am
IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THIS GAME ALREADY DOWNLOAD IT NOW IT'S AWESOME!!!!!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, I have plenty more

So the people in the plot are really broken human beings? The Super Apostles represent those in the church who claim to be of God and Christians yet 'hurt' others, and lack the fruit of the spirit in their lives? And you communicated this hurting through the killing of innocents in the name of God in the game? And you also communicated such blindness that we all have through their inability to truly listen to Blake, wife and others, seek out their true intentions, and in the end they were just quick to judge and kill them?

What did that deep dark black orb thing represent in the forest that Blake used to feed people?

Actually the game had very good graphics and very good sound. You may be surprised by what true good quality means. It's not the difference between 8-bit graphics and 32, it's not the difference between 3D and 2D, or shaders and lighting etc. Graphics is about a presentation, you can use outdated graphics and product a very good graphical game if the visuals of the game are consistent, they improve, they follow artistic rules, the colors compliment each other, the colors suit the environment.

You used a precedent of graphics that work! The music itself is quite good, it suits each environment.

The story was REALLY GOOD! I'm fussy when it comes to video games, really fussy, but I also know some of what it means to make a good game. And you did that right here. Usually games bore me easily, but you had me playing to the end and that says alot about your game.

Where did you get your game design skills? How many years have you spent gaining experience? How did you learn to design an RPG? Did you spend 3 weeks full time developing this prototype? How did you manage to design such a good layout in such little time? Have you had experience before in design?

I hope you don't mind my personal questions. Do you have myspace or facebook? Anywhere I can find out more about you?

Your game is AMAZING, and you did it in 3 weeks.

Regarding using magic in games, I personally didn't find any conviction against it while playing your game, I have felt conviction in others. My biggest concern is that there are people who have been affected by the occult and are quite sensitive to it. In my opinion it's not the mechanic of magic that makes it bad but the word magic. If you replaced the word with something that didn't relate to the occult you'd be fine even if it had the same mechanic or some supernatural origin from God. Fighting against magic too in my opinion isn't a bad thing, ie the bad guys using magic, but that's just my experience and thoughts.

Have you got any youtube videos up or trailers? I'd love to promote this prototype.

Re: Christian RPG

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:16 GMT

Replies: 35
Views: 2861
Last Post By: uncreativepseudonym ON: Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:14 am
Topic By: Mike ON: Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:00 pm

jcservant wrote:

You know, I've already had a couple of 'concerns' regarding magic in our game. I really think some people are superstitious. Certainly, there was an issue with 'witchcraft' and what not back in the day. And while there are still some issues with that in some circles, the witchcraft / demonology practiced by some circles is nothing like the whole fantasy story magic. And, in most RPG / CRPGs, as you said, it's a mechanic... a means to an end. It can certainly represent some things, however.

On the mage topic, however, I've played RPGs/CRPGs for years, and have never felt the least bit tempted to fry my cat inside of a pentagram!

With the hero game I am writing [url]http:/www.superherorpg.net[/url] I have mages - but the mechanic is very simple and it is hard to have the super hero genre without it.

But yes I am cautious to make sure it's the mechanic only - not any of the religeon behind it.